Rhapsodio Supreme V3 Review: The Emperor
Established in 2014, Rhapsodio (RSD) is an experienced earphone/cable brand based in Taiwan and Hong Kong. If you haven’t heard of this brand, it’s great that now you have. Rhapsodio is considered one of those brands that you may not known before, though once you listen to their products, it’s hard to escape from them. They’re a veteran brand that utilizes unprecedented tech and sound to deliver truly unique products, making it hard to find a replacement if you fall in love with a particular product of theirs. Rhapsodio has presented several flagship IEMs in the past – such as Infinity and Zombie MK8. Their newer flagships like Bomber MK2 and Supreme V2 have also gained lots of good impressions from those who have tried or own a pair.
Rhapsodio now presents a new summit-fi IEM that surpasses all of their flagships, called the Supreme V3. This one is a heftily priced product listed as $6399 which questions how good they sound, and how they compare to other summit-fi IEMs. It’s time for us to find out.
Packaging: Bamboo and Steel
I must say, the packaging is quite simple – just like Oriolus Traillii did. Supreme V3 comes in a small bamboo box that is padded with cushions inside. This bamboo box serves both as a packaging and as a storage case, which is quite efficient in usage. Rhapsodio states that they are using bamboo packaging to offer a premium experience while being environmentally sustainable. Inside the bamboo packaging sits a hand-etched metal case.
The metal case is quite heavy so it better serves as a storage case than being portable. there isn’t any padding inside the metal case which may be a concern – yet Rhapsodio includes a thickly-padded earpiece sleeve that would safely protect the IEMs from scratches or rattling while stored in the case. Other than mentioned, the included accessories are a 4.4mm RSD cable, 3 pairs of E-Pro Graphene silicone tips, a pair of Dekoni foam tips, a cleaning cloth, and a cleaning tool.
Earpieces: The Gold Luxury
The beauty of these earpieces is no joke. Supreme V3 uses a brass chamber with a fully 24k gold-plated surface. Brass is a broadly used material for wind instruments to deliver rich, deep nuance with sharp details. The surface is mirror-finished that finishes its gorgeous looks. It uses the standard 0.78mm 2pin connection but with proprietary sockets that ensure better reliability and connectivity than standard connectors.
Supreme V3 is perhaps unusual with its driver setup too. It’s common to see several dozens of BA and EST drivers to be involved within this price range, yet that isn’t the case here. Supreme V3 uses a single driver. Yes, just one. But not any kind of driver, however. Supreme V3 uses Rhapsodio’s proprietary 12mm Ultramag 5G Magnetostatic (MST) driver.
What is a Magnetostatic?
For those who aren’t aware of what an MST driver is, simply put it’s a hybrid driver where a dynamic driver is coaxially fused with a super tweeter diaphragm along with multiple magnets to better control the driver movements. Magnetostatic is a new form of driver created by EarBridge, South Korea.
The advantage over EST is that MST does not require high voltage or an external converter. As an MST driver houses both a full-range driver and a tweeter, it doesn’t necessarily require an additional driver like EST does. The sound characteristics differ between these too of course. Some of you may be familiar with MST drivers being used on more budget IEMs such as Shuoer Tape or Noble M3. Yet, we’re talking about a completely different quality of components and performance here – it’s like comparing between Sennheiser IE900 and a KZ 1DD. Supreme V3 uses two aluminum diaphragms and the number of magnets remains a secret.
Even still, it’s more than reasonable to feel skeptical that Supreme V3 only uses a single driver as such an expensively priced IEM. I had the same doubts which were soon resolved once I heard them. We’ll be talking about the sound in the upcoming sections shortly.
Stock Custom Cable: The Copper Wizard
For the stock cable, Supreme V3 comes with one of their flagship custom cable, the Copper Wizard MK2 in a 2-braid format. Copper Wizard MK2 uses 6N Single Crystal Copper with TPU shielding, finished with black nylon fabric. Value-wise, this would be about $800 as the standalone Coppe Wizard MK2 is 4-braided and retails at $1600.
The Copper Wizard Series is one of the most renowned line-ups of Rhapsodio and is also the series that popularized the cable industry to incorporate fabric shielding into their cables. The cable is light and pliable enough to use without difficulty or microphonics. All components including the chin slider are made with metal with carbon covers which gives a clean, premium look. The plug termination comes as 4.4mm TRRS but would be possible to change the termination upon request.
Sound Impressions: Lows
Supreme V3 has a rich W-shaped sound signature with a gentle boost to the vocals. Supreme V3 makes itself apparent by embodying a powerful dynamic driver. However, the bass has an extremely refined, lush texture that is definitely something different from what a general dynamic driver is able to deliver. Although I’m a dynamic driver lover, Supreme V3 certifies itself to be the next-level IEM by setting higher standards against a single dynamic driver.
The strike and decay are sharp and accurate, knowing exactly when the bass reverbs should step in and out. The headroom for the bass feels grand and has excellent extension and depth. Although the bass presence is quite significant, the quantity isn’t particularly “strong”, having just the right portion to be compared with a v-shaped. We could say that Supreme V3 decided to take the vastness of a basshead sound signature without making the bass sound bombastic or boomy. Low-ends are strictly under control to create a clean, resolution-focused environment.
What I take most importantly from Supreme V3’s bass is that bass dynamics feel completely continuous. In contrast, the bass dynamics reproduced by multi-BA drivers sound choppy and stiff, not hosting the sense of bass flowing along the music. A dynamic driver certainly does better in this field, yet still doesn’t stand a chance against the Supreme V3. The bass of Supreme V3 feels like biting into a well-cooked, juicy T-bone steak that melts in the mouth but also gives great chewing. The elastic yet dead-tight low-end bounces would continuously please my ears.
Sound Impressions: Mids
Perhaps the vocals would be the suspect that would make most people fall in love with Supreme V3. Let’s talk about what is so impressive about it. First, the vocals have a super rich and sweet tone while keeping a neutral tonal balance. This amount of richness would easily cause the vocals to sound colored, unnatural, or out of focus… yet Supreme V3 doesn’t.
The second is that vocals have a perfect mixture of analyticity and musicality. Even high-end models commonly don’t quite get the exact sweet spot between analyticity and musicality – as they’re not easy at all. The reason could also be that personal preference kicks in. Although the vocals are sharp in focus, Supreme V3 makes sure to cease the sharpness right before it actually gets sharp to the ears, along with that the textures are extremely refined. The end result is surreal, meticulous vocal details that coexist with creamy and emo nuance.
Midrange takes a closer step to the ears with great 3D imaging. Vocals scale large and vast while staying up close. There is abundant airiness present throughout the midrange, offering an open-field, endless soundstage for the vocals to do their singing. Vocals keep a consistent tone and intensity with no sibilance or audible dips.
Sound Impressions: Highs, etc.
The treble performance of Supreme V3 easily surpasses many flagship IEMs with multiple EST tweeters. High notes are clear and airy but not overly bright in tone. The airiness and crispness found in the vocals are naturally carried toward the highs, presenting an exhilarating shine to the trebles with no strong fatigues.
Supreme V3 is quick-witted in handling complicated instrument inflows. The treble strikes are prominent, solid, and responsive. Its ability to finely separate each strand of treble texture is truly incredible. More importantly, such technicality is brought out in an incredibly harmonic way, resulting in harmonic yet analytical trebles to the finest. As mentioned previously here and there, the soundstage is large and vast. It doesn’t feel bloated, exaggerated, or loosened but feels more like Supreme V3 being in a different weight class from many flagship IEMs.
How is it different from Supreme V2?
I’m confident to say that the Supreme V3 is a full upgrade from the Supreme V2. The resolution, sound scale, bass extension, treble extension, soundstage, sound depth, density, soundstage, color tone, and so on. The two biggest differences would be the resolution and the scale of sound. Supreme V3 kept everything good about Supreme V2 while going through the transformation, so those who enjoyed Supreme V2 will love the Supreme V3. On the next page, we will be putting Supreme V3 to the test with some serious flagship contestants.
🔽 Next Page (2/2) Comparisons with Oriolus Traillii & Campfire Audio Trifecta